My last meal consisted of a bagel with cream cheese and fruit yogurt gulped down in the hotel room before dawn. So, fast-stepping through Terminal C of Washington's Reagan National Airport 12 hours later, I was looking both for the gate to my US Airways flight and a place to chow down.
I finally settled in line at Five Guys, the home of gloriously greasy burgers and fries from the days before cholesterol entered the national consciousness. Then my brain screamed out: What are you doing here?
Eating healthy at the airport isn't always easy. You're probably in a hurry, stressed out and wandering through unfamiliar territory. The temptation is to grab some familiar comfort food.
Don't give in. Here are a few tips from veteran travelers who won't let their food choices become another indignity of life on the road.
Plan ahead. Pretty much every airport has a Web site that lists places to eat. Many offer free Wi-Fi, so you even can shop around while killing time before a flight.
Look for New Places. The longer amount of time passengers spend in airports since security screening got serious led to new eateries with healthy menu choices. Many travelers like the Au Bon Pan chain, for example, for salads, oatmeal and yogurt snacks.
Have It Your Way. Even the fast-food guys offer some healthy fare, with adjustments. Burger King, for example, has a broiled chicken sandwich -- without mayo -- that won't send your LDL levels off the chart.
Pack Your Own. Lots of flight attendants carry nuts, fruit and salads. But remember: Food that qualifies as liquids or gels -- yogurt, pudding and gelatin -- won't make it past security screening.
And as for my dining experience? A chicken burrito with fried corn chips and salsa at a place called California Tortilla. Nobody's perfect.
(Steve Huettel can be reached at huettel(at)sptimes.com.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service www.scrippsnews.com)
Must credit St. Petersburg Times
Post new comment